Dial telephone locking device



Dec 18, 1928. 1,696,038

w. 8. JAMES DIAL TELEPHONE LOCKING DEVICE Filed May 151, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 //V'VE/Y fole L W 7.,Z, 172M756.

19 W 4' f flrry,

Dec. 18, 1928.

w. B. JAMES DIAL TELEPHONE LOCKING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 31, 1928 1 l E/V rag 7% Z fiW Patented Dec. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. JAMES, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ALFRED H. .AARONS,

01 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DIAL TELEPHONE LOCKING DEVICE.

Application filed May 31,

My invention relates to a dial telephone locking device, and has for its principal object the provision of a relatively simple, practical and convenient device that may be applied to the standard forms of dial operated telephones for locking the same against unauthorized use or until the looking mechanism has been released by the insertion of a coin or a slug into the lock.

There is now upon the market a form of coin controlled dial locking device wherein the member that engages and locks the dial, moves a short distance upward to release the dial, but in this particular device the bolt or dial locking member, when elevated, interferes with the movements of the fingers in manipulating the dial, and it is one of the purposes of my invention to arrange the dial locking member so that when released, it will move into a position where it will not interfere with the manual actuation of the dial.

Further objects of my invention are to generally improve upon and simplify the construction of the existing forms of dial telehone locking de *ices.

' With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a dial telephone and showing my improved locking device in position thereupon.

Fig. 2 a side elevational view of the look ing device in position on a dial telephone.

Fig. 3 is an clevational view of the box or housing that contains the locking mechanism with the rear wall thereof removed.

a is a vertical section taken on the lineHof Fig. 3. V

Fig. is a vertical section similar to Fig. 4 and showing the dial locking member or bolt in elevated or unlocked position.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken approxi mately on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3 with the bolt or dial locking member in lower position as to engage and lock the dial.

Fig 7 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 6

and showing the locking bolt elevated so as" to free and permit operation of the dial.

1928. SerialNo. 281,999.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 8 -8 of Fig. 6.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a practical embodiment of my invention, 10 designates the base of an ordinary telephone, and mounted in the usual manner upon said base, in front of the post or upright 11, is the dial 12 that is manipulated to establish connection with another telephone, and carried by the upper end of the post or standard 11, is the usual transmitter 13 and mouthpiece 14.

The operating parts of my improved dial lock are contained within a small rectangular housing that is preferably formed of sheet metal, and which includes top and bottom walls 15 and 16, a left hand wall 17, a right hand wall 18, a rear wall 19 and a front Wall 20. These walls are secured to each other in any suitable manner, and the right hand wall 18 is connected to the adjacent edge of the bottom wall 16 by a hinge 21, and thus,

said righthand wall functions as adoor which, when opened, permits access to the interior of the housing, and arranged on the upper, inner surface of this right hand wall or door, is a key controlled lock 22, the bolt of which, when projected, engages behind aflange 23 that depends from the corresponding end of the top plate 15. Secured in any suitable manner to the top and bottomwalls 15 and 16, and arranged midway between the side walls 18 and 19, is a vertically disposed partition 24. The chamber 25. on one side of this partition,functions as a pocket or receptacle for the coins that are inserted in the lockfor the. purpose of releasing the same, and the chamber or space on the other side of the partition is occupied by the operating parts of the lock.

Secured in any suitable manner, to the rear wall 19 of the housing, is a strap 26 that passes around the post or standard of the telephone, thus firmly holding the box or housing in front of the upper portion of the post or standard 11, just below the transmit.

plate to permit the downward passage of a coin or slug, and for the accommodation of coins or slugs that are utilized in the operation of the lock, :1 slot 28 is formed in the top plate 15 between the front plate 20 and the upper portion of plate 27.

In order to close this coin slot and consequently prevent operation of the lock, a rod 29 is arranged for horizontal sliding movement against the inner face of the upper edge of front plate 20, and, for the accommodation of this rod, the upper portion of plate 27 is bent to form a horizontally diposed channel 29', that is positioned immediately below the coin slot 28. The outer end of rod 29 is bent downward to form a short arm 30, and which latter is adapted to engage behind the outwardly bent ends 31 of a plate 32, that is tired in any suitable n'ianner to the inner face of front plate 20, adjacent to the upper edge thereof. When rod :29 is moved inward so as to close the coin slot 28, the arm 30 is positioned behind one end of plate 32, as illus trated by solid lines in Fig. 8, and when the rod is withdrawn to open the coin slot, it is positioned behind the opposite end of said plate 32, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 8.

In order to permit the rod. 28 to be shifted from oneposition to the other, it must neces sarily be rotated a quarter turn prior to its lengthwise movement, in order that the arm 36 may pass the outwardly bent ends 31 of the plate 32, and the manipulation of the locking rod 29 can only be accomplished when the lock 22 is unlocked to permit door 18 to be opened.

Journaled in a bearing 33 that is formed in the front plate 20, just below plate 27, is a short shaft 34-, on the outer end or" which is fixed a knob 35 having a milled edge, and rigidly mounted on the shaft 33, just inside the plate 20, is a plate 36 having an upwardly projecting finger 37 that is adapted to pass thru the space between the lower portion of plate 27 and the adjacent portion of front plate 20.

Mounted to rotate freely on shaft 34 and lying directly against the rear face of plate 36, is a short arm 38, and projecting rearwardly from the end of this short arm, is a finger 39.

A spring 40 is coiled once or twice around the inner portion of shaft 34, one end of said spring bearing against a lug 41 that projects outwardly from the'lower portion of plate 36, and the opposite arm of this spring passes thru an aperture in the finger 39. Projecting rearwardly from plate 36, just belowthe finger 37, is a lug 4-2 against which the free end of arm 38 is yieldingly retained by spring 40, and for the accommodation of this lug when the plate 36 and parts carried thereby are moved upwardly, the lower edge of plate 27 is notched, as designated by 43. A not 44 is mounted on the inner end of shaft 34 and retains the coiled portion of spring 40 on said shaft.

Secured in any suitable manner to the inner, upper portion of the left hand wall l7, is a plate 15, the intermediate portion of which is spaced apart from said plate, and positioned between this plate l5 and the adjacent side wall 1?, is the inner portion of an arm 46, the samebeing pirotally mounted on a pin or stud 4-? that is seated in plate 45, and said arm projects outwardly thru a vertically disposed slot l8, that is formed in rear wall 1!), so, that projecting portion of said arm is in position to he engaged and moved downward by the hook H that supports the receiver of the telephone (see Figs. 2, G and 7).

The inner end of arm 46 is bent upward and normally engages the rear end of a short arm 13 that is pivoted at 50 to the plate to, and the rear end of this arm 48 is bent laterally at right angles to provide a linger 51, that occupies a horizontal position in the upper portion of the housing, a short distance in front of rear wall 19. Seated in the upper portion of plate 45 and partition 24;, are the ends ofa horizontally disposed rod 52, and the ends of a similar rod 53 are seated in the lower portion of plate 15, and the intermediate portion of partition 24, said rod 53 being disposed a short distance below below said rod 52.

The locking belt or the member that passes thru apertures in dial 12 for the purpose of locking" the same against rotary movement. comprises a tubular member li t that is arranged to move freely thru a slot that is formed in the bottom 16 of the housing. said slot lying parallel with the side walls 17 and 18 and being located a short distance to the left of partition 24.

Formed integral with or fixed to the upper end of the locking member 54, is a plate 56 that occupies a position innl'lediately in front of the rods and 53, and formed integral with the sides of: this plate 56. and disposed at right angles thereto. are vertically disposed parallel plates 57 and 58.

Plate 57 occupies a position adjacent to and parallel with partition 24 and plate 58 occupies a position adjacent to and parallel with the plate 4.5.

Formed in the upper portions of the plates 57 and 58are vertically disposed slots 59 thru which passes rod 52 and formed in the lower portions of said plates 57 and 58, are suhstantially L-shaped slots 60 thru which passes rod 53.

The horizontally disposcdlower portions of the slots (30 extend inwardly or toward the plate 56. Formed on the upper portion of plate 58, is an inclined shoulder 61 upon which normally bears the laterally bent finger :"il that is carried by the arm 48.

Secured to the upper portion of the rear lilo face of. plate 56, is one .end of a bow spring 62 that extends downwardly behind vrod 53, and the lower portion of said spring extends thru an aperture 63 that is formed in the lower portion of said plate 56, just above the rod 54. This spring 62 is utilized for moving the rod 54 to the rear end of slot 55, when the locking rod is elevated, as illustrated in Fig. 7,

Pivotally mounted on the upper portion of partition 27, to the rear of rod 52, is the upper port-ion of a plate 64, and formed on the upper portion thereof, is a forwardly projecting hook 65 that normally occupies a pocket 66 that is formed in the front plate by pressing a portion of said plate outwardly.

Formed in the partition 24, immediately adjacent to the front plate 20, and to the side of the plate 60, is a vertically disposed slot 67", the same communicating with the lower portionof the space between plate 27 and the front wall or plate 20.

Formed on the front face of plate 56, is a vertically disposed row of ratchet teeth 67, and adapted to engage therewith, is the rear edge of lip 68, that projects laterally from the lower end of plate 64. The lower end of a straight spring 69 is secured to the partition 24, and the upper end of this spring passes thru an aperture in the lip 68 and said springnormally forces the edge of said lip against the ratchet teeth 67.

Formed on the upper rear portion of plate 64, is aprojecting-finger 70 that occupies a position beneath the rod 52 and which bears against said rod to limit the swinging movement of the plate 64, in one direction. Projecting from the lower portion of plate 56, just below plate 58, is a short arm 71 that occupies a position directly over the finger 39 that projects rearwardly from the arm 38.

The operation of. my improved lock is as follows: 1

Under normal conditions, or with the locking member 54 in engagement with the perforated dial 12 on the telephone, the various 7 parts of the lock occupy the positions as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 6 with the member 54 at its lowermost limit of movement, so that the lower end thereof projects thruone of the apertures in the dial 12and said looking member and the plates carried by the upper end thereof are retained in dial locking position by the engagement of lip 68 with the uppermost one of the ratchet teeth 67 and which lip and the swinging plate 64 that carries said lip being held in bolt restraining position by the tension'of spring 69;

With the parts thus positioned, finger 39 is positioned directl below arm 71. p the lock to be released, so that the locking member 54 maybe elevated, and thereby permit the operation of thedial 12, the receiver isrernoved from hook H, which permits the latter to swing upward, andthereby establish To enable certain connections within the'instrument,

and after the hook has thus been removed, a coin of predetermined value or a slug ofthe same size as the coin utilized for operating the lock, is inserted thru slot 28 and said coin dropsinto the space between plate27 and front plate 20, and comes to rest on top of the pivoted plate 36, having the upwardly projecting arm or finger 37.

The operator now engages the knob 35 between the thumb and finger and rotates same clockwise or toward the right hand, thereby swinging the plate 36 and arm 37 carried thereby, upward, and such action produces tension in the spring 40 due to. the movement of the lug 41 which engages one arm of said spring toward the finger 39 that receives the other arm of said spring, and as the inserted coin positioned on top of plate 36, is moved upward and laterally by arm 37, at the top of plate 36, said coin will. engage beneath the hook 65, with the result'that the plate 64 that carries said hook will be swung on its pivot, consequently withdrawing lip 68 from the ratchet tooth with which it has been engaged, andas the locking bolt is thus released, the finger 39 under tension of sprin 40 and hearing against the underside of finger 71 will instantly elevate the locking bolt and parts carried thereby, and when said bolt has moved upward to its limit of movement, the tension in spring62 will act to swing the lower portion of the locking bolt rearwardly thruslot 55, andwhich action is permitted by the horizontally disposed portions of slots 60 that receive the rod 52 so that when elevated to its limit of movement, the lower portion of the lockingbolt has moved rearward a sufficient distance to enable the dial to be manipulated without interference between the finger and the lower endof the locking bolt (see dotted lines Fig. 2). As the inserted coin passes beneath the hook 65 by the final upward movementof the arm37, it will I pass beneath said hook 65 and immediately thereafter, pass thru slot 67 and drop into the bottom ofthe chamber 25, to be later removed, when door 18 is unlocked.

As soon as the coin passes thru slot 67*, as just described, the operator ceases the further rotation of knob 35 and immediately the tension of spring 40 will restore the plates 36 and 38 to their normal positions, as illustrated in Fig. 8. l H j As the locking bolt and the plates on the upper end thereof move vertically, as just. described, the inclined shoulder 61 on plate 58 will bear against the underside of the finger 51 and move said finger upwardly, consequently moving the opposite end. of the arm 48 downward, and this end of the arm hear ing on the inner end of pivoted arm. 46 will swing the same so that the projecting outer portion thereof is moved upward to the limit of itsmovement in slot 48, thus occupying the position illustrated in Fig. 7, and consequently, setting the parts in position to be actuated to lower the locking bolt when the hook .H is subsequently moved downward by the receiver that is positioned thereon after the telephone has been used.

After the telephone has been used, the receiver is placed onhook H and due to the weight of said receiver, the hook will be moved downward, thereby swinging the projecting end of arm 46'downward and in turn, arm 48 will be swung upon its axis so that finger 51 will bear on the inclined shoulder 61 of plate 58, thereby swinging the locking bolt and parts carried thereby forwardly into a substantially vertical position, and due to the weight of the locking bolt and parts carried thereby and thetension spring 62 that bears against rod 53, the locking bolt will move vertically downward until its lower end enters one of the apertures in dial 12, and as lip 68 engages above one of the upper ratchet teeth 67, said locking bolt will be effectually retained in its lowermost dial locking position. 7

Thus, it will be seen that I have provided a telephone dial locking device that is relatively simple in construction, capable of being easily and cheaply produced, and which very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

Among the especially desirable features of my invention, are the means whereby the locking bolt moves rearwardly simultaneously with its vertical movement so that its lower end will not interfere with the finger used in manipulating the dial, and further, means utilized for closing the coin slot in the top of the housingof the device and which slot closing means is operable only when the locked door of the housing is unlocked and open, and in this connection, it will be understood that the key of the lock for the door is to be retained by the telephone subscriber who may thus control the'use of the telephone.

Itwill be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved dial telephone locking device, may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described with out departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims. a

I claim as my invention:

1. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing adapted to be positioned on a. telephone above the dial thereof, a dial locking bolt arranged to move vertically within said housing and to swing rearwardly simultaneous with its upward movement, and coin controlled means within said housing and operable from the exterior thereof for controlling the movement of said dial locking bolt.

7 2. In a dial telephone locking device, a

housing adapted to be positioned on the telephone above the dial thereof, a dial locking member having its upper portion arranged for vertical movement within said housing, means for causing said loci-ting member to swing rearwardly simultaneously with its upward movement, coin control means within the housing for controlling the action of said locking member, and a knob on the exterior ofihe housing for actuating said coin controlled means.

3. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing adapted to be positioned on the telephone above the dial thereof, a dial looking member having its upper portion arranged for vertical movement within said housing, means for causing said locking member to swing rcarwardly simultaneously with its upward movement, coin control means within the housing for controlling the action of said locking member, a knob on the exterior of the housing for actuating said coin controlled means, there being a coin slot formed in the upper portion of the housing and means on the interior of said housing for closing said coin slot.

4. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing, a dial locking bolt having its upper portion arranged for vertical movement in said housing, coin controlled means within said housing for moving said locking bolt vertically, the upper portion of said housing beingprovided with a coin slot, and adj ustable means within said housing for closing said coin slot.

5. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing provided in its lower portion with slot, a dial lockin g bolt a r 'anged to move vertically and lengthwise thru said slot, a plate projecting upwardly from the locking bolt within said housing, a series of ratchet teeth formed on said plate, a spring pressed detent adapted to engage said ratchet teeth, and means within the housing and operable from the exterior thereof for moving a coin into engagement with said detent to disengage the same from said ratchet teeth.

6. In a dial telephonelocking device, a housing provided in its lower portion with slot, a dial locking bolt arranged to move vertically and lengthwise thru said slot, a plate projecting upwardlyfrom the locking bolt withinsaid housing, a series of ratchet teeth formed on. said plate. a spring pressed detent adapted to engage said ratchet teeth, means within the housing and operable from the exterior thereof for moving a coin into ongagement with said detent to disengage the same from said ratchet teeth, and a spring actuated member within the housing for elevating the locking bolt and plate when the detent is disengaged from the teeth on said late.

7. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing provided in Its lower portion with a slot, a dial locking bolt arranged to move vertically and lengthwise thru said slot, a pair of lates carried by the upper port-ion of said loc iiing bolt and arranged within said housing, which plates are provided with slots and rods arranged within the housing and projecting thru said pairs of slots.

8. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing provided in its lower portion with a slot, a dial locking bolt arranged to move vertically and lengthwise thru said slot, a pair of plates carried by the upper portion of said locking boltand arranged within said housing, which plates are provided with slots, rods arranged within the housing and projecting thru said pairs of slots, a spring pressed detent within the housing for normally holding the locking bolt against upward movement, and coin controlled means arranged within the housin and operable 7 from the exterior thereof fdr releasing the detent to permit upward movement of said locking bolt.

9. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing provided in its lower portion with a slot, a dial locking bolt arranged to move vertically and lengthwise tliru said slot, a pair of plates carried by the upper portion of said locking bolt and arranged within the housing and projecting thru said pairs of slots, a spring pressed detent within the housing for normally holding the looking bolt against upward movement, and coin controlled means arranged within the housing,

operable from the exterior thereof for releasing the detent to permit upward movement of said locking bolt, and a spring pressed arm arranged within the housing for imparting upward movement to said locking bolt.

10. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing, alocking bolt having its upper portion arranged for vertical movement within said housing, coin controlled means for controlling the operation of saidlocking-bolt, and there being a coin slot formed in the top of the housing and a sliding member arranged within the housing for closing said coin slot.

11. In a dial telephone locking device, a housing, a dial locking bolt having its upper portion arranged for vertical movement within said housing, and there being a slot in the bottom of the housing to permit said looking bolt to swing simultaneously with its vertical movement, a spring pressed detent for engaging the upper portion of the bolt to prevent upward movement thereof, an arm mounted for swinging movement within the housing and operable from the exterior thereof, which arm isadapted to move a coin into engagement with the detent for releasing the same from thelooking bolt, and a tension spring carried by the upper portion, of the locking bolt for causing the same to swing laterally, simultaneously with its upward movement.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

WILLIAM B. JAMES. 

